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JOINT CIRCULAR No

JOINT CIRCULAR No. 15/2001/TTLT-BTM-BCA OF MAY 10, 2001 ON THE EQUIPMENT AND MANAGEMENT OF FIRE-FIGHTING MEANS IN DEPOTS OF MINERAL OILS AND MINERAL OIL PRODUCTS

Pursuant to the Prime Minister’s Directive No. 237/TTg of April 19, 1996 on enhancing measures for fire prevention and fighting and in order to meet the requirements of the equipment and management of fire-fighting means in depots of mineral oils and mineral oil products.

The Ministry of Trade and the Ministry of Public Security hereby jointly provide for the equipment and management of fire-fighting means in depots of mineral oils and mineral oil products as follows:

1. GENERAL PROVISIONS

1.1. This Circular provides for the equipment and management of fire-fighting means, applicable to depots of mineral oils and mineral oil products in liquid form in the whole country, but not to liquefied gas (LPG) depots as well as mineral oils and mineral oil products depots, which are built in caves or on water surface.

1.2. The designing for construction, renovation, expansion and operation of depots of mineral oils and mineral oil products must be based on this Circular for calculation and equipment of fight-fighting means.

1.3. The terms used in this Circular shall be construed as follows:

1.3.1. Depots of mineral oils and mineral oil products mean establishments which receive, preserve, prepare and distribute mineral oils and their products in liquid form.

1.3.2. Fire-fighting system is a combination of technical equipment, formulating a specialized complete system for fire extinguishment.

1.3.3. Stationary fire-fighting system is a combination of specialized technical equipment, pipelines and fire-extinguishing agents used for fire extinguishment, which are fixed.

1.3.4. Semi-stationary fire-fighting system is a combination of specialized technical equipment, pipelines and fire-extinguishing agents used for fire extinguishment, part of which is fixed while the remainder shall be installed and connected when fire fighting is carried out.

1.3.5. Fire-extinguishing agents mean natural substances or compounds, which can break or extinguish fires (including: air- foaming agents, water, powder, chemical foam, inert gases...).

1.3.6. Foaming solution-ejection intensity means the amount of foaming solution ejected to a fire within a time unit over an area unit (l/s.m2).

1.3.7. Fire-fighting foam with low swelling multiple means the foam, which, when activated by technical equipment, has a swelling value below or equal to 20 times the initial volume of the foaming solution.

1.3.8. Fire-fighting foam with average swelling multiple means the foam, which, when activated by technical equipment, has a swelling value of more than 20 to 200 times the initial volume of the foaming solution.

1.3.9. Fire-fighting means include machinery, equipment, tools, chemicals and other support instruments used exclusively for fire fighting.

1.3.10. Primary fire-fighting means include fire fighting tools and facilities, which are equipped enough to extinguish newly-arising and small fires.

2. EQUIPMENT OF FIRE-FIGHTING MEANS

2.1. Depots of mineral oils and mineral oil products must be equipped with fire engines and fire pumps as follows:

2.1.1. Depots of mineral oils and mineral oil products with general capacity of over 50,000 m3 must be equipped with at least 2 fire engines.

2.1.2. Depots of mineral oils and mineral oil products with general capacity of between 15,000 m3 and 50,000 m3 must be equipped with at least 1 fire engine and 1 mobile fire pump.

2.1.3. Depots of mineral oils and mineral oil products with general capacity of under 15,000 m3 must be equipped with at least 1 mobile fire pump and 1 reserve pump with the same technical properties as the main one.

2.1.4. Fire engines and mobile fire pumps equipped for depots of mineral oils and mineral oil products must ensure the necessary flow and pressure and must have the properties to fight fires with water and foam.

2.2. Depots of mineral oils and mineral oil products must be equipped with primary fire-fighting means with the specific quantities and of the categories specified in Appendix 1 (not printed herein). Particularly for fire extinguishers, in addition to the quantity specified in Appendix 1, it is necessary to put in reserve a definite quantity of fire extinguishers of each category, which shall be calculated on the following principles:

- For a quantity of 5 fire extinguishers, 2 more in reserve are required;

- For a quantity of between 6 and 10 fire extinguishers, the reserve quantity shall be 2 + 1= 3;

- For a quantity of between 11 and 15 fire extinguishers, the reserve quantity shall be 3 + 1= 4;

- For a quantity of between 16 and 20 fire extinguishers, the reserve quantity shall be 4 + 1= 5;

The same method shall apply to the calculation of reserve fire extinguishers for the subsequent quantities.

2.3. Depots of mineral oils and mineral oil products must be equipped with stationary or semi-stationary fire-fighting system. The equipment of stationary or semi-stationary fire-fighting system shall depend on the tanks’ sizes and capacities, concretely as follows:

2.3.1. Cases where stationary fire-fighting system must be equipped:

- Aboveground tanks with the diameter of 18m or more;

- Aboveground tanks with the capacity of 2,000 m3 or more;

- Aboveground tanks with the height of 15 m or more;

- Semi-subterranean tanks with the capacity of more than 4,000 m3.

2.3.2. Cases where semi-stationary fire-fighting system must be equipped:

- Aboveground tanks with the diameter of under 18m;

- Aboveground tanks with the capacity of between 400 m3 and under 2,000 m3;

- Aboveground tanks with the height of between 6m and under 15 m;

- Semi-subterranean tanks with the diameter of under 18 m.

- Semi-subterranean tanks with the capacity of between 800 m3 and 4,000 m3;

- Underground tanks with the capacity of 1,000 m3 or more.

2.4. For cases where semi-stationary fire-fighting system must be equipped, at least the following equipment of the fire-fighting system must be fixed:

- For aboveground and semi-subterranean tanks: foaming devices, foaming solution pipelines and tank-wall cooling pipelines must be fixed to the tanks and run at least to the cock outside the embankment.

- For underground tanks: pumps, valve clusters, foaming agent containers (containing foaming solution), foam-mixing equipment, foaming solution pipelines and water pipelines to the cock outside the embankment must be fixed.

In addition to the above-mentioned minimum requirements, depending on the projects’ characteristics, other equipment of the fire-fighting system may also be considered for additional installation.

2.5. In a group of tanks, if the tanks are of different sizes, the designing of a fire-fighting system for such group must be based on the tank with the biggest size and top fire-fighting system must be equipped.

2.6. For tanks with the capacity of under 400 m3, the on-spot fire engines or fire pumps shall be used.

2.7. The selection and calculation of the quantity as well as determination of the category of foaming devices used for tank fire fighting must be based on the tanks’ diameters, types of mineral oil and mineral oil product contained therein. The technical properties of a number of foaming devices are specified in Appendix 2 (not printed herein); other foaming equipment with equivalent properties may also be used but must be permitted by the Fire Prevention and Fight Police Department.

2.8. The amounts of foaming agents, water for fire fighting and other fire-fighting means equipped at depots of mineral oils and mineral oil products shall be determined by the method prescribed in Appendix 3 (not printed herein).

2.9. The minimum ejection duration and foaming solution ejection intensity for tank fire fighting are prescribed as follows:

2.9.1. In cases where the foaming devices fixed onto the tank uses a foaming agent with average swelling multiple, the provisions in Table 1 shall apply.

Table 1

Ordinal number

Types of mineral oil and mineral

oil product

Foaming solution ejection intensity (l/s.m2)

Ejection duration (minutes)

1

For mineral oils and mineral oil products with ignition temperature below or equal to 280C

0.08

10

2

For mineral oils and mineral oil products with ignition temperature higher than 280C

0.05

10

2.9.2. In cases where the foaming devices fixed onto the tank uses a foaming agent with low swelling multiple, the provisions in Table 2 shall apply.

Table 2

Ordinal number

Types of mineral oil and mineral oil product

Foaming solution ejection intensity (l/s.m2)

Minimum

ejection duration

(minutes)

Foaming device installed by mode I

Foaming device installed by mode II

1

For mineral oils and mineral oil products with ignition temperature below 37.80C

0.068

30

55

2

For mineral oils and mineral oil products with ignition temperature of 37.80C ¸ 93.30C

0.068

20

30

3

Crude oil

0.068

30

55

of which:

- The foaming device installed by mode I of Table 2 is the one affixed with a foam runner to the surface of the liquid that prevents foam from sinking or stirring the liquid’s surface.

- The foaming device installed by mode II of Table 2 is the one affixed with a forefront apron to direct foam to a place from which it spreads on the liquid’s surface, which reduces the foam sinking and stir of the liquid’s surface.

2.9.3. In cases where the portable foaming device uses a foaming agent with average swelling multiple, the provisions in Table 1 shall apply. In cases where the portable foaming device uses a foaming agent with low swelling multiple, the provisions in Table 3 shall apply.

Table 3

Ordinal number

Minimum ejection

duration (minutes)

Foaming solution ejection intensity (l/s.m2)

Types of mineral oil and mineral oil product

1

For mineral oils and mineral oil products with ignition temperature below or equal to 37.80C

0.108

65

2

For mineral oils and mineral oil products with ignition temperature of between over 37.80C and 93.30C

0.108

50

3

Crude oil

0.108

65

2.10. The coefficient (K) of foaming agent reserve used for fire fighting at depots of mineral oils and mineral oil products in liquid form is prescribed as follows:

- For foaming agent with average swelling multiple: K = 3.

- For foaming agent with low swelling multiple: K = 2.

2.11. At depots of mineral oils and mineral oil products, the solution pipelines and cooling water pipelines systems must be designed separately. For the stationary fire-fighting foam system using quantitative equipment with a separate foam pump independent from water pump, a reserve foam pump with capacity equivalent to that of the main one is required.

2.12. The intensity and duration of cooling a burning tank’s perimeter and half of perimeter of the surrounding tanks in a distance equal to or smaller than two times the diameter of the burning tank are prescribed as follows:

2.12.1. Cooling water intensity:

- For burning tank: 0.5 liter/second/1m of the tank’s perimeter.

- For surrounding tanks: 0.2 liter/second/1m of the tank’s perimeter.

For semi-subterranean tanks: the cooling water intensity shall be reduced by 50% as compared to the aboveground tanks.

2.12.2. The cooling water flow for underground tanks (including burning tanks and surrounding tanks), used concurrently to reduce temperature of the surrounding area and to cool the surface of the adjacent underground tanks as well as fire-fighters, is calculated as follows:

- 10 liter/second, for tanks with the capacity of 100 ¸ 1,000 m3.

- 20 liter/second, for tanks with the capacity of 1,001 ¸ 5,000 m3

- 30 liter/second, for tanks with the capacity of 5,001 ¸ 30,000 m3.

- 50 liter/second, for tanks with the capacity of 30,001 ¸ 50,000 m3.

2.12.3. The duration for calculation of cooling water volume for a burning tank and surrounding tanks must be at least 3 hours.

2.13. The volumes of water and foaming agent (for both fire fighting and reserve cooling) must always be adequate as required. In case of deficiency due to the loss or use, the immediate addition thereof is required. The duration for restoration of the reserve water volume shall be 48 hours at most; for places in short of water, the time for addition of the reserve water volume may be longer but must not exceed 96 hours; the duration for addition of the reserve foaming agent volume shall be 48 hours at most.

2.14. In specific cases where the equipment of fire-fighting means at depots of mineral oils and mineral oil products cannot be effected according to the provisions of this Circular, there must be other technical solutions, which must be consented in writing by the Fire Prevention and Fight Police Department.

3. MANAGEMENT OF FIRE-FIGHTING MEANS AT DEPOTS OF MINERAL OILS AND MINERAL OIL PRODUCTS

3.1. The agencies managing depots of mineral oils and mineral oil products shall have to:

- Organize, drill and inspect sections and individuals performing task of preserving and using fire-fighting means.

- Ensure the annual financial plan for adequate equipment and management of fire-fighting means.

3.2. Individuals and sections assigned the responsibility to preserve and use fire-fighting means shall have to organize the performance of the following tasks:

3.2.1. To regularly and periodically inspect the operation of fire-fighting system, ensuring that it is always in good order and ready for fire fighting.

3.2.2. At least once a year, to conduct all-round inspection and maintenance of the fire-fighting system with regard to the following equipment:

- To inspect the operational status and tightness of joints between the foaming device and tank wall as well as foaming nets;

- To inspect the operational status and tightness of ejectors.

- To inspect the tightness of ejectors, to repaint the rusty parts of the foaming agent containers;

- To inspect the attrition and deformation of water and solution pipelines;

- To inspect the filters’ rustiness;

- To inspect the tightness of joints, to check the leaks of valves;

- To inspect foaming agent or foaming solution;

- To inspect water source for fire fighting.

3.2.3. To organize the hydraulic testing to inspect the tightness and durability of the whole system of water and solution pipelines; the testing pressure shall be equal to 1.25 times the working pressure, and the inner side of the pipelines must be cleaned at least once every 3 years.

3.2.4. To use, maintain and repair fire engines and fire pumps as well as the accompanying appliances according to the general stipulations of the Ministry of Public Security.

3.2.5. To inspect the quantity, quality and place of installation of primary fire-fighting means, at least once a month; if the requirements are not satisfied, the timely addition and remedy are required.

3.2.6. To arrange fire extinguishers in dry and cool places where they can be easily spotted and taken, and to avoid:

- Placing them outdoor or where the temperature is higher than 550C;

- Letting safety valves and hoses be covered with dust;

- Letting hoses or nozzles be blocked;

- Letting A and B drugs be mixed with one another during their transportation and preservation.

- Letting hard objects strike on fire extinguishers and safety valves.

3.2.7. Upon warehousing fire-extinguishing agents, there must be technical documents and chemical test description, clearly stating the name of producing country, the code of goods lot, production agency, the weight of the goods lot, physio-chemical standards and use duration.

3.2.8 The time limit for inspection of quality of foaming agents and foaming solutions is prescribed as follows:

- For the already blended foaming agents: at least once every 6 months.

- For pure foaming agents: at least once a year.

The method of inspecting the quality of foaming agents and foaming solutions are prescribed in Appendix 4 (not printed herein).

3.3. If any loss, damage or poor quality of fire-fighting means is detected, the supplement or replacement thereof must be made in time.

3.4. The results of monthly, quarterly and yearly inspection of fire-fighting means must be recorded in writing and sent to the managing agency and kept on file at the concerned units.

4. ORGANIZATION OF IMPLEMENTATION

4.1. The heads of depots of mineral oils and mineral oil products are tasked to:

- Strictly comply with the provisions of this Circular.

- Organize the training on fire prevention and fight knowledge and skills; on the management, preservation and use of fire-fighting means for their employees.

- Regularly inspect the implementation of the regime of managing and preserving fire-fighting means so as to bring into the fullest use their fire-fighting properties and efficiency.

4.2. The Fire Prevention and Fight Police Department exercising the function of State management over fire prevention and fighting shall have to guide, inspect, urge and organize the implementation of this Circular.

4.3. The ministries, the ministerial-level agencies, the agencies attached to the Government, the People’s Committees of the provinces and centrally-run cities shall, within the ambit of their respective powers, have to closely coordinate with the Ministry of Trade and the Ministry of Public Security in directing the implementation of this Circular.

4.4. All violations of the provisions of this Circular shall, depending on their seriousness, be handled strictly according to law provisions.

4.5. This Circular takes effect 15 days after its signing and replaces Joint Circular No. 3053/TTLB of December 27, 1979 of the Ministry of Supplies and the Ministry of the Interior.

In the course of implementation, if any problem arises, it should be reported to the Ministry of Trade and the Ministry of Public Security for timely guidance and settlement.

For the Minister of Trade

Vice Minister
HO HUAN NGHIEM

For the Minister of Public Security

Vice Minister
LE THE TIEM